GI: New Quad Tip CBE for 05-09 from Infamous Performance

[sleeper8406]

If the flange is the same size shouldn't I just be able to use a regular flat gasket with the COBB? the 2.5" opening should fit inside the 3" mid pipe. Or is it a question of a difference in the length of the pipe?

[tossty]

Very tempting, subscribed

[GTLEGACY007]

Tempted as well... will there be a continuous run of these after the initial group buy, or is this it?

[LosAngelesLGT]

Part of keeping the price under $1000+ is producing many at once. The GB helps facilitate that. If more are available in the future a higher pricepoint is likely.

[SurlyOldManMN]

Oh, and looks like I might be making a 2010/2011 CBE with Stromung too.

 

*cough*

1. SurlyOldManMN

*cough*

[m sprank]

I do not intend to carry inventory. if I can buy a few extra during this production run, I will. But, those would not be available at the GB price.

 

For all intents and purposes, this is it.

 

I can't believe how many people are still using OEM or 2.5" restricted DP's. On top of that, those that do not being aware of adapters and such.

 

Maybe I will just leave the darn fixture alone and keep the 2.5" donut flange. I will just have Stromung make MINE 3" (custom).

 

I can not offer them both ways. It is one or the other. Going to 3" is costing me money, not the end buyers. I have to pay to modify the fixture, I have to supply the fit car and DP, I have to be responsible for the fit with DP's.

[Fraggle]

Maybe I will just leave the darn fixture alone and keep the 2.5" donut flange.

 

NOOOOoooo.... Make em 3" please!

(that being said... ehh, exhaust shop it is, it's just not pretty)

[TSiWRX]

FWIW:

 

On my Invidia Q300 as well as on my custom Magnaflow-resonated Lachute, the mid's 3" - both mate up fine to the factory last cat.'s doughnut, substituting a 3" flat gasket in place of the doughnut.

 

As long as there's enough flexibility in terms of mounting designed into that 3" mating end (i.e. bolt through-holes that are slotted enough to allow for a 2.5"/factory-cat. to mate-up), a flat gasket will work there, just fine.

[svx6]

The draw for me is that it was going to be 3" without a need for a reducer.

[mattg]

If it starts at 2.5" I'm not interested. You said it was going to be 3" so keep it that way.

[m sprank]

Ah, the voices of reason. Thanks guys, I was starting to worry.

 

I have used a X02/CXLighting CBE with a Cobb DP. The CBE was 3". All I did was stick the donut gasket on and crush the two flanges together. The darn donut sealed the hole. I am sure a flat gasket would have worked, Just putting the 2.5" part inside the 3".

 

If the bolt holes need to be modified, I would think that is an end user job. Take your drill and make the holes bigger/longer.

 

If I have Stromung use a 3" flat flange and a piece of flex in the midpipe, I would think that should give enough "play" to accommodate. Stromung thinks so, it is how they have made the WRX CBE for 5 years now.

[chutrain]

Keep it with the 3" as originally stated. 2.5" would make me have second thoughts on

getting this.

[mattg]

This is how my 3" PDE DP mates up with the Perrin mid.

 

http://photos.imageevent.com/mattg/legacygt/large/IMG_2274.JPG

[spec.B Dream]

I would back out if 2.5".

[SBT]

^The flange adapter I had before was nowhere near the thickness of that one. I got it from Fred Beans, and it was much cheaper too.

 

That WBR piece is machined out of solid stainless steel and mates the donut side to a flat flange beautifully. The others that I've seen mate a 3" flat-flange DP to a 2.5" donut CBE and are usually pressed out of mild steel about 3/16" thick.

This is the only adapter that I found that is robust enough to work under all the varying temperature/moisture conditions and not create a "joint" issue when installed. FWIW - The Perrin mid pipe has a decent SS flex joint in it, and it seems to be holding up very well.

[SBT]

I dont like the bottleneck. I have cut it out of my SPT CBE and my Cobb CBE. I asked for the three inch flat flange because I thought more members were like me.

 

Why have a 3" midpipe and start at 2.5"? Might as well have a 2.5" pipe at that point.

 

Unfortunately, asking for opinions just opens a can of worms. So, I am not asking for opinions. As mean as it sounds, its kind of tough. If you dont like it my way, dont buy it. Simple as that.

 

I did not have stock downpipes in mind with this CBE. If you are willing to spend $1000 on a CBE but want to keep your OEM downpipe, you are not my target market. These cars are out of production. Many are on their second or third owner. It is modders I am tryng to reach. As for the Cobb DP. I had one. I sold it. I now use CNT. That should tell you what I think about that.

 

Asking for opinions is why this has never been brought out before. CNT tried just this year and ran away because there is NO CONSENSUS. Too many opinions.

 

I spoke with Stroming on this already. They dont want to change what they have, it costs money. But they wholeheartedly agree with the "no opinions" mind set. They dont ask either. They make a product that they are happy with. You buy it or you dont. If not enough people buy it, they stop making it.

 

Not trying to be a dick. Just stating facts. Difficult to express "emotion" in interweb posts.

 

Not changing over to another DP, plan to keep the COBB till forever. Just mentioned that many in this thread are looking for stock mate-ups for their CBE setup. And if you're not planning to offer stock fitment, then it would probably be in everyone's interest to have Stromung fab up an adapter to mate up this new CBE to the stock setups - extra cost - but would at least give everyone the peace of mind that the connection is solid. FWIW - The Perrin mid pipe has a decent SS flex joint in it, and it seems to be holding up very well.

[SBT]

And I don't care whether the CBE is 3" or 2.5" - really don't. As was mentioned, 99% of us aren't going to see that big a gain between the two, especially if the cans flow well, which seems to be where the larger impediment comes in.

[TSiWRX]

If the bolt holes need to be modified, I would think that is an end user job. Take your drill and make the holes bigger/longer.

 

Come to think of it, I honestly don't know why any of the various makes would specifically go for an ovoid/elongated/enlarged set of bolt holes at that flange, unless there's added benefit outside of the need to accommodate different DPs?

 

I wonder if, with a very tightly specified bolt/hole placement, fitment with different types of DPs (not just, say, a 2.5" versus a 3", but simply across different brands) may become more problematic?

 

Hear me out.....

 

From this picture, courtesy of Gmachine, you can see how Invidia approached the issue:

 

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=77934&d=1261180205

 

- on the far right flange, the mid-to-DP flange, you can see how they reinforced it and how the holes are elongated in shape.

 

From the following two pictures that I snagged off the official GB thread:

 

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=92416&d=1289634732

 

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=92436&d=1289634834

 

^ it almost looks as if Stromung also accounts for that difference, albeit with larger diameter holes.

 

I think that's actually how my Lachute mid was constructed, too. I wonder if Stromung hadn't already accounted for this, back in the day (IIRC, their first DP for the BL/BP was a 2.5" - http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/stromung-downpipe-legacy-gt-specific-here-14076p2.html?highlight=stromung+mid post #17 - post #40 in that thread also confirms that they had, at one point, a HFC replacement, in 2.5" flavor, for the factory last cat.).

 

Regardless, this won't affect my participation in this GB. Like Subietonic, I'm merely throwing ideas out there, hoping to aid in the development or reassure those who might be on-the-fence.

 

I'm of the type to believe that even true "bolt-ons" require a little bit of muscle, in the end.

 

The only thing that will get me solidly locked or dropped-off this GB will be the way the tips look.

[m sprank]

FWIW this is becoming far more of a headache than I want to take on.

 

At an estimated sale price of $800-$850 it is not worth the work. It MIGHT be worth the work at retail price, $1200+ when Cobb stopped production.

 

If someone else wants to front the $25k or so to get these made go for it. After PayPal fees, shipping, and paying Stromung I will be lucky to have enough left over to buy my wife dinner. That means that my time, gas, drives to Stromung, money to have the fixtures modified and work are all for FREE.

 

I hear, "I dont care if it is 2.5" or 3"", but then why do you keep opening the can of worms by bringing it up? If you use a Perrin now, the Stromng will fit NO worse. You are using Perrin for Christ sake. Do they have a reputation for fitting on an LGT? Did I miss something?

 

Have any of you noticed how few vendors actually do group buys anymore? Do you wonder why? This is a prime example. Headache too great for no money. Vendors dont make money on Group Buys. Members demand pricing so low that all you get out of it is advertisement.

 

Reality check for everyone. My recent GB on the Cobb XLE BOV was at a loss. I sold them for less than I paid. I lost at least $5 on every sale after PayPal fees. I listed the sale knowing it was at a loss. Price too high, still. Did not even sell my inventory. I am not allowing that to happen with this Group Buy. I can not afford the loss.

 

My apologies for the rant. No disrespect, Dale. I take your input as a long time member and leader of the forum into great consideration.

 

I still read more "I want 3" than "I want 2.5". But I am tired already. I need 12 buyers or Stromung will not make them. If all I get is 12. Then 12 members get the most insane deal ever on a Stromung. Everyone else can eat crow.

 

DAMD Master Mike is Audi5000.

[CrowNaza86]

I'm in regardless man. To good of a deal. Whatever it comes out as, count me in. I just want this high quality, no drone, sweet sounding CBE. Just let me know when to put the money down.

[300zx2g35]

I'm in regardless man. To good of a deal. Whatever it comes out as, count me in. I just want this high quality, no drone, sweet sounding CBE. Just let me know when to put the money down.

 

Same here. I've already got money set aside for this so count me in as a definite whether its 2.5" or 3" (although I'd prefer 3").

[TSiWRX]

FWIW this is becoming far more of a headache than I want to take on.

 

At an estimated sale price of $800-$850 it is not worth the work. It MIGHT be worth the work at retail price, $1200+ when Cobb stopped production.

 

If someone else wants to front the $25k or so to get these made go for it. After PayPal fees, shipping, and paying Stromung I will be lucky to have enough left over to buy my wife dinner. That means that my time, gas, drives to Stromung, money to have the fixtures modified and work are all for FREE.

 

 

That definitely ain't good.

 

I hear, "I dont care if it is 2.5" or 3"", but then why do you keep opening the can of worms by bringing it up? If you use a Perrin now, the Stromng will fit NO worse. You are using Perrin for Christ sake. Do they have a reputation for fitting on an LGT? Did I miss something?

 

^ Because if it doesn't get discussed - and settled - then someone, at some point down the line will voice a complaint, and that will snowball.

 

What I (and Subietonic) am trying to do is to make sure that at least this single issue is cleared: people worry about the DP-to-mid fitment, but what we're both trying to say is that there should be no worries, given that the end-user knows how to address the issue. If you looked at the posts that have to do with this, Mike, you'll see that there are many who don't know that simply using a 3" flat-gasket (double-thick, if-necessary) and alternative hardware or using that 2.5-to-3" adapter that Subietonic pointed out will take care of this concern.

 

 

Have any of you noticed how few vendors actually do group buys anymore? Do you wonder why? This is a prime example. Headache too great for no money. Vendors dont make money on Group Buys. Members demand pricing so low that all you get out of it is advertisement.

 

^ Completely agreed - it's not just Vendors: even individuals organizing GBs have gone the way of the dinosaurs. I ran, as a non-profit (with the exception of taking delivery of the component at GB pricing, myself) individual-participant, on many Forums in the past, but I haven't done so in the last 5 year, and it's precisely for your stated reason: headache too great. There's too much time and too much effort involved, for minimal payoff. For someone who is in it to keep bread in his/family's mouth, it's definitely a BIG headache.

 

My apologies for the rant.

 

^ No need to apologize - you've stated early on that this GB needs to be one where "you said/goes," and buyers should either join or not. I think that's very reasonable. This large of a scale, some ground-rules need to be in-place.

 

Again, what I'm trying to do - and I truly believe that Dale's trying, too - is to make sure that at least this single concern is ironed out for the participants, so that there won't be complaints of "I didn't/don't know" down the line.

 

If it's documented that a concern had been addressed, then at least we could all come back and say, to the complainer: "hey, dummy, look at post X on thread Y: you knew what you'd gotten yourself into, so don't play dumb."

[m sprank]

I understand. Both you and Dale are a huge help around the forum. You on other forums as well.

 

I certainly want everyone aware of what they are buying before they put any money down. I dont like unhappy customers. I am not here to swindle, scam, misrepresent or rip anyone off. There is enough of that going around other places.

 

There should be no fit issues. I will use a known good DP for Stromung to use when they "flip" the fixture. From there, the flex should accommodate any slight irregularities in different brands.

 

I sell both the standard 3-2.5 adapter ($30) and the Grimmspeed 2xthick 3" gaskets. So, that should work with a set of grade8 bolts and nuts.

 

My thought is this. Even if I can not improve upon the original, or all I can accomplish is making it 3" instead of a tapered 2.5", is it still not the best quad tip ever made for the cars, at the lowest price ever offered?

 

I was going to make my own, find some cans, and have it reproduced abroad. After spending a weekend making a mid pipe, that looked scarily similar to my "Stromung", I went out of my way to find the original manufacturer, fixtures and make a deal. I think the end result is the best possible solution.

 

I just cant say "Made in the USA" enough. Not just the box, like some other people have tried. This is not made elsewhere and reboxed in the USA. These will be made with care and pride in Surf City USA (Huntington Beach, California).

[mattg]

http://www.acurazine.com/forums/images/smilies/patriot.gif

[chutrain]

If it means sending a deposit now to make sure this GB actually materializes, I am game. I

have been on many GBs where they just don't materialize. I have ran GB where the

headaches are so many that it really isn't worth the time and effort. I would really like to

have something written down and ready to go soon since the longer it takes, the higher

the possibility this becomes another wishful thinking thread.